Tips To Support Students In Selective Primary Schools

Posted by Aaronwatson on June 10th, 2021

Providing quality education for one's children is every parent's dream. To achieve this goal, parents enroll their children in some of the best available schools. As a parent, you are aware of your child's ability and academic prowess. It would help if you enrolled your child in a school that best fits them, such as a selective school.

What are selective schools? A selective school is one that admits learners using specific academic criteria. For example, it could allow only the A-students into the school. For these students to maintain their academic standards, there is a need for an enabling environment and support. So how can students in selective primary schools be supported?

1. Having Qualified Teachers

Teachers play a vital role in a student's life because they are knowledge givers. Therefore, selective primary schools in Singapore must have the best and qualified teachers for their learners. Teacher competency is essential as the teacher is dealing with highly gifted students. The teacher needs to have a wide range of knowledge and experience. Selective schools have learners who even challenge teachers; thus, a teacher must be highly informed to handle learner's questions.

2. Having Learner-Centered Learning

Student-centered learning focuses more on the learner, such that the teacher switches from an instructor to a facilitator. In this kind of learning, the emphasis is put on students' abilities and interests. Learners are challenged to be critical thinkers and have the ability to solve academic problems independently. Learner-centered education allows students to discover new information independently and make the relevance of the information, thus exploiting their academic excellence. The teacher is only consulted for clarification.

3. Appropriate Expectations from Learners

The selective primary schools in Singapore mostly have learners with the same academic performance. Therefore, both parents and teachers can gauge what to expect from the learners regarding their performance. Thus, learners will be pushed to work harder to exploit their gifts. Only when a learner goes below the academic expected performance will there be a cause of alarm to the teachers and parents, necessitating appropriate measures.

4. Parent Involvement

Apart from paying school fees, a parent should be actively involved in a child's academic progress. Parents understand their children's abilities better than anyone else; thus, their school performance input is highly appreciated. For instance, teachers may identify a learner who could perform exceptionally but stays in the comfort zone. A parent intervention could help push the learner into performing even better.

5. Positive School Culture

A conducive learning environment is essential for all learners. Learners are more productive when they feel valued, cared for, and respected. Positive school culture can be created through;

• Effective communication within the school

• Respect among learners, teachers, and supporting staff

• Building learners self-esteem

• The practice of positive reinforcements

Supporting learners in any form of school setup helps them be more productive hence good performance, which is every parent's dream. Excellent performance in primary school gives learners a better chance of enrolling in an outstanding secondary school.